One More Chinese project near the Colombo Port

China
will invest 1 billion US Dollars in the construction of three 60-storey
buildings at a mega-project near Sri Lanka's main port, Colombo said on
Tuesday, as Beijing aims to boost its influence in the Indian Ocean
according to Sri Lankan media reports.

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The deal follows an earlier Chinese investment of 1.4 billion US Dollars to
carry out reclamation work for the wider Colombo International Financial City
development, strategically located next to Sri Lanka's harbor, the only deep
sea container port in the region.

The project, initiated by former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse,
will create a financial centre in the Indian Ocean comparable with those in
Singapore and Europe, drawing billions in foreign investment and thousands of
jobs.

Nearly 60 per cent of the 269 hectare (672 acre) reclamation, due to finish
next year. No completion date was given for the buildings.

"China Harbour
(company) will put in 1 billion US Dollars to build three buildings," Sri
Lanka's urban development minister Champika Ranawaka told reporters in the capital.
These three 60-storey buildings will be able to attract more foreign companies
into Sri Lanka.

The controversial project was formally launched after a visit to Colombo by
Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2014 but work was suspended by the new administration,
which came to power in January the following year. It resumed after the
state-owned China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) entered into a
fresh agreement with the new government in August 2016, despite geopolitical
concerns from regional super power India.

Colombo is a key hub for Indian import-export cargo. Beijing has been accused
of seeking to develop facilities around the Indian Ocean in a "string of
pearls" strategy to counter the rise of its rival and secure its own
economic interests. After protests by New Delhi, Colombo removed freehold
rights granted to the Chinese company and offered the land on a 99-year lease
instead.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe visited the site Tuesday to
inspect the progress of reclamation. "We will shortly have legislation to
turn this area into a financial centre like in Europe or Singapore," he
said.

China, the largest single lender to Sri Lanka,
secured contracts to build roads, railways and ports under Rajapakse, who is
facing investigations over allegations of corruption during his decade in
power.